Konoha: Starting with a sign-in for Hashirama cells

boom!

The colossal creature that destroyed the earthen ball from the inside out was one of Orochimaru's trump cards: the Eight-Headed Serpent Technique.

It transforms into a terrifying multi-headed serpent monster.

"A Jinchuriki, Rasengan, and the surname Uzumaki, plus blond hair and that face... Minato and Kushina's child? No wonder."

"However, it was also largely due to my carelessness and underestimation of his opponent. If I had known earlier that he was a Jinchūriki..."

Having learned Naruto's identity, Orochimaru dispelled the Eight-Headed Serpent Technique and mocked himself.

Chapter 60 Do you like it?

The shadow clones buy time.

It was enough for Class 7 to steal the necessary Earth Scrolls from the others, gather the Heaven and Earth Scrolls, and head to the central tower.

Completed the second round of the Chunin Exams.

They also broke a record along the way.

After sensing that Orochimaru had broken the seal, he lingered in the same spot for a while, but showed no intention of coming back, and then left. Naruto breathed a sigh of relief.

If Orochimaru relentlessly pursues him, then he has no choice but to continue running away with Sasuke. He absolutely cannot let Orochimaru succeed in planting the Heavenly Curse Seal on Sasuke.

Sakura, on the other hand, doesn't need him to worry about her; with her Flying Thunder God Technique, she can come and go without a trace.

"I never expected there to be such a terrifying genin..." Sasuke said with a complicated expression.

What left him speechless was that such a powerful genin had admitted to being Itachi's defeated opponent.

What left him speechless was Naruto, whose strength was truly astonishing.

"I've been at the Ninja Academy the whole time, listening to the teachers talk about how dangerous the ninja world is. But without seeing it for myself, I never really got a real sense of it," Sakura sighed.

"Standing in front of that person, I felt extremely insignificant. My life did not belong to me; he could easily take it away."

"Therefore, in order to have no regrets, doing everything in our power to become stronger is the best and only choice," Naruto said.

I arrived early; today is the first day, and this second assessment won't be over for several more days.

Wasting time is not an option. Once he realized he had nothing else to do, Naruto immediately began training.

Seeing this, Sasuke vigorously wiped his face, cleared his mind of distractions, and continued his training in Lightning Release chakra.

Sakura thought about it seriously.

It is believed that mastering one skill is better than superficially possessing multiple skills.

So he didn't get distracted by physical training, spiritualization techniques, chakra sensing techniques, or genjutsu, but instead focused on the Flying Thunder God Technique.

Using shadow clones to assist in cultivation, one can strive to achieve the ability to carry others into flight as soon as possible, eliminating the need for hand seals, and transferring attacks, among other effects.

Five days passed like quicksand, slipping through my fingers.

Time flies by.

All the genin who had collected the scrolls of heaven and earth and arrived at the central tower within the specified time gathered in the open space.

When the examiner for the third assessment, Gekko Hayate, explained that a preliminary round would be held before the official match,...

Kabuto Yakushi, the multifaceted spy, was the first to raise his hand and abstain.

With Orochimaru present, there was no need for him to gather intelligence.

Without Kabuto Yakushi, there are twenty genin remaining, enough for ten matches.

"Well then, without further ado, let's begin," Moonlight Gale said.

The flashing name on the screen stopped.

"Uchiha Sasuke, Akado Yoshiro, everyone else please leave."

It ended very quickly.

No doubt about it, Sasuke wins.

It was a total kill.

Without the influence of the Heavenly Curse Seal, and having mastered the technique of stimulating cells with Lightning Release chakra beforehand, he was in his prime; it would be strange if he didn't kill them instantly.

"Sasuke's performance wasn't cool?" Naruto asked, puzzled.

When asked, Sakura was stunned and said, "He's handsome."

"Then why are you so calm, as if it's none of your business, not excited at all, not infatuated? You're so different from the person I remember." Naruto said, his eyes suddenly changing.

A fierce glint flashed within him, and he spoke in a low, menacing voice.

"You're not Sakura! Who are you! Where is Sakura! I don't care what your purpose is! If you dare to hurt her! I..."

Sakura's eyebrows twitched violently, and she punched Naruto directly, then grabbed his waist and twisted it seventy degrees clockwise.

"I was daydreaming, can't I be thinking about something else? And who are you talking about, being a fangirl? Who's being a fangirl! I'm admiring a handsome guy, okay!"

"Ouch! Okay, okay! I made a mistake. Let go, let go now, it hurts!" Naruto's expression changed.

Sakura let go, turned her face away, and after a while turned back to whisper, "What did you say earlier? What would you do if someone dared to hurt me?"

Rubbing his lower back with one hand and staring blankly at the scene below, Naruto, who was completely unmotivated by the battle that was exactly the same as in the story, said casually.

"What can we do? Of course, we'll do our best to get you out."

"What if I get killed..." Sakura's words were interrupted by Naruto, who said, "No, you won't."

"I mean, just in case," Sakura said.

"Unless something goes wrong, I won't let you die." - Naruto

"I already said it's just in case! Do you even understand what 'just in case' means?!" Sakura couldn't help but punch Naruto again.

"I won't let you die, absolutely not," Naruto muttered.

"Why? We're just ordinary friends. Why are you so insistent on protecting me? Could it be... that you like me?" Sakura asked jokingly.

Naruto was stunned.

Do you like Sakura?

He had never really thought about this question before.

Sakura belongs to Sasuke. In the story, the couple already has a daughter, and it seems they will become in-laws.

Knowing this beforehand, he would never have made a move on Sakura.

However, several years have passed, and some unknown mindsets have been quietly changing.

At this moment, after hearing Sakura say this, Naruto, who was facing this question for the first time, asked himself whether he liked Sakura or not.

The answer is yes.

It's very common for feelings to develop over time. Even if you don't have feelings for someone at first, spending a lot of time together can lead to subtle changes.

Hidden behind the violence is Sakura's gentleness, Sakura's care, and Sakura's companionship.

"Please, stop joking, okay? I have someone I like, Hinata," Naruto said, amused.

Having past life experiences, they won't do things they know are impossible or unachievable.

Since Sakura is known to like Sasuke and will eventually marry him, he shouldn't show the slightest sign of anything unusual.

If Hinata finds out, it will also hurt her.

As for Sakura, just treat her as a friend.

“I’m the type of person who, once I make a promise, will definitely keep it,” Naruto said.

"I promised to help you pursue Sasuke, and I will definitely do it. If anything happens to you or Sasuke, my promise will be invalidated, so..."

"Not just you, if Sasuke is in trouble, I will risk my life to save him."

So that's how it is. The reason I wanted to stop Sasuke from being taken away by Orochimaru was entirely for Sakura's sake.

Naruto, who only realized this at this moment, couldn't help but chuckle.

Upon hearing this, Sakura was very disappointed, but she didn't show it on her face. Instead, she turned her attention to the ongoing third match, the battle between Kankuro and Misumi Ken.

It's almost over.

Genin generally have very little chakra, so battles tend to end quickly and don't drag on for long.

Just like in the story, Kankuro wins.

"Hey, it's your turn. Are you daydreaming again?" Naruto reminded him.

Sakura snapped out of her daze and realized that the names frozen on the screen were hers and Ino's, and Ino had already gone down to the field.

She took a deep breath and jumped.

Chapter 61 Don't Underestimate Girls

“I know the characteristics of your technique; it can only teleport you to marked locations. As long as you pay attention, you can effectively avoid it,” Ino said first.

"The gap in the hand seals is enough for me to react. You don't have much of an advantage."

"This battle is very important to me. I want to continue and become a Chunin, so don't expect me to hold back, and I will never admit defeat."

Her words sounded grand and dignified, but only Ino herself knew what her true thoughts were.

“Of course, if you go easy on me, I’ll be the first to object,” Sakura said. “Besides, I don’t need you to go easy on me.”

Indeed, as Ino said, her current Flying Thunder God technique still has many shortcomings, but don't forget that she also has Shadow Clones.

When used in conjunction with Shadow Clone Jutsu, it can largely compensate for its weaknesses.

Seeing that both sides were ready, Moonlight Gale announced the start.

Immediately, the two women made a move.

Ino forms hand seals and aims at Sakura.

Sakura darts left and right, simultaneously forming hand seals to create two shadow clones.

How could best friends who can talk about anything not know each other's strengths? Ino's secret technique, the Mind Turning Technique, can only go in a straight line, it can't turn corners.